Archbishop Emeritus of Madurai Peter Fernando, who served as Archbishop of Madurai from 2003 to 2014, passed away here on Saturday. He was 77.
His body was kept at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday where a special mass led by Archbishop of Madurai Antony Pappusamy was conducted. A condolence meeting followed. Later, his body was taken to Thoothukudi where the funeral will be held on Monday.
Peter Fernando, a native of Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district, was an university rank holder when he did his graduation in St. Xavier’s College in Palayamkottai. Later he went to St. Mary’s Seminary in the USA to study theology, after which he was ordained a priest in 1971.
Prior to becoming the Archbishop of Madurai, Peter Fernando served as Bishop of Thoothukudi from 1999.
He had also served as president of Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council. He had written five books in English and two in Tamil, which include ‘Theologizing in India,’ ‘Image of Women,’ ‘Unnodu oru nimidam,’ and ‘Nimmadhi Nimidangal.’
